By The River
by Daughter of Nature
Summary: Raoul makes an interesting new acquaintance while out for a walk one day. A series of Raoul/Sabine drabbles, written for Goldenlake's 2011 SMACKDOWN.


_As it said in the summary, this is a series of Raoul/Sabine drabbles written for Goldenlake's 2011 SMACKDOWN. Each drabble is just over 100 words, so instead of having one chapter for each drabble, I've got them all combined in one._

Raoul sighed as he walked along the riverbank. This was one of his favourite escapes, but somehow, today it wasn't working as well as it usually did. His troubles were weighing too heavily on his mind. He loved his friends, but as much as he claimed to be a happy bachelor, he couldn't help being jealous occasionally at their happiness in marriage.

And then to have to put up with primping ladies (_girls_, really) and their pushy mothers on top of it, it just wasn't fair. Why couldn't a beautiful, strong woman with a _real_ personality just turn up and…sweep him off his feet?

"Watch it!" snapped a woman's voice.

Raoul jumped, and caught sight of long brown hair, deep brown eyes, an amused grin (gods, how he loved that), and _lots_ of bare skin. He forgot his manners and gaped for a moment, captivated by the woman's beauty…and then he caught sight of her tail and fell in the river.

Sabine hadn't expected much from the day. They all seemed to merge together, really, unless they were particularly sunny or particularly stormy. She was thankful that today it was sunny, and she'd swum upriver from the coast to her favourite sunning spot on the riverbanks just past the palace. It was peaceful, sunny, and most importantly, away from the mermen.

She was busy combing her hair when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned her head to see a tall, strongly-built man with dark hair and eyes walk into the clearing. She smiled for a moment as she caught sign of the Goldenlake colours he wore (Gods, it had been so long since she'd had a decent ale), and then her eyes widened as she realised he was so distracted he was about to trip over her.

"Watch it!" she snapped.

The man jumped – a sight quite amusing for someone his size, a blush growing over his face as he looked at her. Sabine smiled to herself and moved her tail just enough to catch his attention – this cove was handsome, she decided she could have a little fun. His eyes widened as he caught sight of it…and then he fell into the river.

Sabine's eyebrows rose as the big man fell into the river. Gods, she'd never had such an interesting reaction when somebody caught sight of her! She knew she was out of touch with society these days, but…she had no idea that Goldenlake had started to produce such loobies. She couldn't help but wonder if they were inbred, or if it was simply too much of that delicious Goldenlake ale. She smiled to herself, and then realised that the man was struggling in the river. She wasn't surprised, really, when she thought back to her own days as a knight – she could think of at least ten things he'd be wearing that would be weighing him down. And really, he was too handsome to be allowed to drown like this. Sabine slid off her rock into the river.

Raoul cursed his choice of clothes and accessories as the water pulled him downwards. It was bad enough to fall into the river, but to do it in front of a beautiful lady (even if she did surprise him with her tail) was so much worse. And then to not instantly and easily get out of the river with a charming smile on his face was so much worse! He wondered briefly if he should at least be glad that he picked someone interesting to drown in front of. This woman seemed…different from the most, and it was more than just the tail. She had the air of a warrior woman about her. Her grin and the light in her eyes had reminded him of Alanna, while her build was more like Kel's. He accidentally swallowed a mouthful of water as his mind reminded him he hadn't seen _that_ much of Kel.

And then strong arms wrapped around him and tugged, and air filled his lungs again.

"I suppose I look like a drowned rat," Raoul murmured.

The strange woman laughed. "In all fairness, you did almost drown." Raoul blushed, and she smiled. "But I've seen my fair share of Rats, and somehow I'm convinced that you're not one of them."

Raoul felt himself flushing even more. "Thank you for saving me," he murmured.

She snorted. "I could hardly let you drown right in front of me," she pointed out. "Besides, I was a knight once – I remember what curst-heavy things I used to wear."

Raoul knew it was impolite, but he couldn't help staring. "You're a mermaid," he blurted out.

"I prefer to be called Sabine," she replied. She glanced at her tail. "I wasn't always a mermaid."

"I wasn't always a mermaid." Sabine resisted the urge to laugh at the thought of trying to balance that tail on a horse and fight. "Back when I had two legs and much better balance, I was a lady knight."

The man's eyes were wide. "But how did you get a tail?"

Sabine smiled at him. She wondered if he was always this awkward and blurted out whatever he was thinking, or if she'd simply caught him completely off guard. Either way, she couldn't help but think it was adorable.

"I'm not in the habit of telling everything about myself to strangers," she told him.

"Oh," he said, and looked crestfallen for a moment. "Oh," he said again, "you're hinting for me to introduce myself?" Sabine grinned encouragingly. "I'm Raoul," he told her. "Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malories Peak, but that's all a mouthful, so er…just call me Raoul."

"Goldenlake, huh?" Raoul nodded, and Sabine smiled. "I thought so from your clothes." He nodded again and blushed, and a smile grew over Sabine's face. Gods, she could really have some fun with this cove. "So," she began, and leaned even closer to him, "how'd you get that extra title? Are you married or sommat?"

"Gods, no," he blurted out. "I just killed a couple of giants and then Jon gave it to me. Er, King Jonathan, I mean. We're friends, so I'm used to calling him Jon." He blushed yet again. "I mean, we grew up together, as pages and squires. And they weren't really _giant_ giants, just little ones, as far as giants go, anyway."

Sabine smiled and ran her hand down his arm gently. "You sound like a true hero," she murmured, and grinned to herself as his face went scarlet.

Raoul would've kicked himself if he could've done it without Sabine seeing. Not only did he fall into a river and have to be rescued by her, but now he'd turned into a babbling idiot with everything he said. And he couldn't even blame it on the tail! As nice as Sabine seemed to be, she also appeared to have _extremely_ dangerous womanly wiles. Perhaps they were her mermaid powers, and every man who came across them felt as though his brain had turned into boiled cabbage.

Raoul sighed. As if all of that wasn't bad enough, his clothes were squelching.

"Take them off, then."

Raoul stared at her. "What?"

"You just said your clothes were squelching."

Raoul's eyes widened. "I thought I thought that!" he blurted out. "I mean, that was supposed to stay in my head." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are these your mermaid powers, making me babble like an idiot?"

Sabine snorted. "No, you're doing that all on your own."

"Oh," said Raoul, and then wondered whether that was a good thing or not.

"You were right about your clothes squelching, though," Sabine told him. "You should really take them off and dry yourself out properly."

"You were right about your clothes squelching, though," Sabine told him. "You should really take them off and dry yourself out properly."

Raoul flushed and shook his head. "I'll dry out just fine like this," he said. "Besides, I don't mind a bit of squelching while I dry."

Sabine raised an eyebrow. "Gods, I think we could both do with some ale," she said. "You wouldn't happen to have any in a hip flask, would you?"

"I don't drink," he said, and then stared as she burst out laughing. "What?"

"A Goldenlake that doesn't drink? Gods, that's ironic. And I was hoping for some Goldenlake ale, too."

"I could bring you some," he offered.

Sabine smiled. "Maybe later."

"I meant what I said about taking your clothes off." Sabine looked him in the eye, and predictably, he flushed.

"I meant what I said about keeping them on," Raoul mumbled. "I'll dry out just fine. It's sunny."

"You don't mind if I sun myself, do you?" Sabine settled back onto her favourite rock and stretched herself out. "It's so nice here in the warmth of the sun. At least take your shirt off and come and join me." She smiled to herself as she saw his indecision. "I'd feel bad about being half bare if you don't," she lied.

"Oh, sorry," he said, flustered. "I didn't think of that." He shuffled closer and pulled his shirt over his head.

Sabine smiled, enjoying the view.

Sabine smiled as she ran her eyes over Raoul's toned chest. He turned towards her, and she hastily pretended to be watching the river instead.

"Make sure you spread it out in the sun," she said casually, and nodded towards his shirt. "It'll dry faster."

"I know," he replied. "I was going to."

Sabine admired his back as he turned away. "Your breeches would dry a lot faster if you took them off too," she pointed out. "I wouldn't be offended if you took them off, it's not as though I'm wearing anything."

"If…if you're sure," he said hesitantly.

Sabine grinned. "I'm sure."


End file.
